IND vs ENG 2025: India vs England, 1st T20I - Who Said What?

The second leg of the Indian international season got underway against England in the form of a T20I series. The teams clashed with each other in the first match of the five-match series at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22.

India won the toss and elected to field first. The decision proved to be a good one very soon with Arshdeep striking off the third ball of the match, scalping Phil Salt (0 off 3). He was not done and dismissed another English batter, Ben Duckett (4 off 4), in his next over to create history. Arshdeep became the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is, standing at 97 wickets now.

A 48-run partnership between Jos Buttler (68 off 44) and Harry Brook (17 off 14) stabilised the England innings but Varun Chakravarthy had plans to derail the innings completely for the visitors. The spinner broke the partnership by dismissing Brook with a brilliant delivery which knocked his stumps. Two balls later, it was the turn of Liam Livingstone (0 off 2) to face the same fate courtesy of a peach of a delivery from the mystery tweaker. England were 65/4 after 7.5 overs and needed another big partnership.

But that did not come as wickets fell at regular intervals. Buttler, who had held the innings together from one end, fell to Chakravarthy as well. England folded for 132 in 20 overs. For India, Chakravarthy finished with figures of 3/23, Hardik with 2/42, Axar with 2/22 and Arshdeep with 2/17.

India, in reply, started well. Sanju Samson (26 off 20) carried on in the same vein as he did in his previous T20I series. His elegant strokeplay gave India the start they desired. However, his innings did not last long. Captain Suryakumar Yadav was out for a three-ball duck but Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma (19* off 16) combined to form an 84-run partnership from 42 balls. Notably, Varma's contribution was 15 runs only. Abhishek blitzed to his half century in no time and brought India to the doorstep of victory. He eventually fell for 79 runs off 34 balls. India won the game by seven wickets with 43 balls remaining. For England, Jofra Archer (2/21) and Adil Rashid (1/27) were the only wicket-takers.

Talking Points

1. Arshdeep's twin strikes create history

Arshdeep proved why he is in the Indian team and rated so highly in this format. He gave the team a solid start with two scalps in back-to-back overs. The second wicket allowed him to overtake Yuzvendra Chahal to become the highest wicket-taker for India in the shortest format. His disciplined and smart bowling kept the runs in check. The left-armer's economy rate of 4.25 was proof of his tight lines and lengths.

2. Chakravarthy spins the web around the English batters

Just when India needed a breakthrough, Chakravarthy provided it. Not one but two. As mentioned above, he bamboozled Brook and Livingstone with his variations, thus disturbing their furniture. The 33-year-old tried his best to contain the flow of runs too and did a decent job at it. Another big scalp of Buttler a bit later really extinguished England's hopes of posting a competitive total.

3. Abhishek Sharma goes on a rampage

Fans, who would have watched and followed IPL 2024, know how destructive a batter Abhishek Sharma can be. This evening Abhishek provided a reminder of the same. Though he started a bit slowly he quickly picked up pace after Samson's dismissal. The Punjab batter played shots all over the ground and did not spare any English bowler. He brought up his fifty off 20 balls and did not stop there. His 79-run innings comprised five fours and eight sixes. When he was dismissed victory for India was a mere formality.

Also Read: Arshdeep Singh becomes highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is with scalps in successive overs

Who Said What?

Losing skipper, Jos Buttler said:

There was a little bit in the wicket early on, probably didn't expect that. It looked like a really good wicket, they found a little bit of movement and we lost a couple of wickets. But if you come through that phase, it's a pretty good pitch and obviously a fast-scoring ground. Some really good players in there, we wanted to enforce the game that we want to play and we weren't quite capable of doing that today against some good bowlers but we're better for the run-out and we're looking forward to the next one. He (Jofra Archer) always looks good, he's a superstar, he looked threatening. Thought he could have had a few more wickets there. Mark Wood was bowling fast as well. To see two of them operate in tandem is exciting. We want to be aggressive, we want to be watchable. We are up against a team who are ultra-aggressive as well, so it's really exciting.

Winning skipper, Suryakumar Yadav said:

The energy, the way we started, that set the benchmark. All the bowlers had their own plans and executed. (On picking three spinners) We wanted to stick to our strengths. All three of them are doing a wonderful job. (On Varun) He's keeping things very simple, his preparations are on point. He (Arshdeep) took the responsibility and he's been doing it consistently. There's a lot of freedom being given by Gauti bhai. We've been working hard with the fielding coach.

Player of the Match, Varun Chakravarthy said:

I am used to see such pitches in the IPL. I know there are certain lengths which is helpful for me. I try to keep it away from their arc. Every over, bowling in Eden is challenging. The last over was very challenging, but by God's grace I was successful. I can't beat batsmen with side spin. I can only beat them with bounce. I'm still 7 on 10, still more work to do.